Misery Business
by Pricat
Summary: Zeebad is in a bad mood and is being a bully. He starts picking on Zebedee but he's too afraid to tell Mr Rusty in case it gets worse. Can his friends help him to stand up to Zeebad's bullying?
1. The Torment Begins

Misery Business 

Ch 1

Zebedee woke up. It was early morning in the Enchanted Village. He went outside. He was going to meet Florence and the others. But he heard Sam beg for mercy. He wondered what was going on. It was coming from outside the candy seller's shop. He gasped in worry when he saw Zeebad cornering Sam.

"Give me your candy or I'll deep freeze you you bald coward!" Zeebad ordered the soldier. Zebedee was angry. Zeebad was picking on Sam because he wasn't very brave and kind hearted. "He won't give you anything!" Zebedee told him. Zeebad growled as he shot a blast of ice and hit Sam but pushed Zebedee to the ground. "I'll see you later." He hissed to Zebedee as he vanished. Sam felt worried as his friend helped him up.

"Are you okay?" Zebedee asked him. "I'm fine. Just scared. Zeebad is going to start bullying you and it's all my fault!" he answered sadly. There were tears in Sam's eyes. "Don't worry Sam. The others and I are building a circus. You can help." He told him. Zeebad cackled as he watched them from his prison. "_You think a bully is nothing to worry about Zebedee? I'll show you! You'll be as cowardly as Sam when I'm through with you."_ He thought as he waited.

Night fell and Florence and the others went home. Zebedee was walking to his house when Zeebad appeared blocking his way. "What do you want?" he asked him trying to get past but Zeebad tripped him up. Zeebad laughed as he shot him in the chest with an ice blast. "You are my new prey. Picking on Sam was fun but picking on you is better spring boy! If you tell your pathetic friends about this, it'll get much worse!" he told him as he vanished.

In bed that night Zebedee was upset about this. Tears had fallen on his pillow and he found it hard to sleep. He wanted to tell Mr Rusty about Zeebad picking on him but was afraid in case the bullying got worse. He then began to think of the circus he and the others were working on. It made him feel better but he was worried in case Zeebad wrecked it. His chesr was sore vyr rgw xomment Zeebad had said hurt him more. Nobody had called him a spring boy except for his father. He then fell asleep crying. Sam was worried. Florence and the others were already at the Roundabout but he saw him appear wearing a top hat. "You okay? You seem sad." he said to him. Dougal then remembered Zebedee was bringing candy with him. "Where's the candy?" he asked the Magical Springer. "I... kist it. I'm sorry." Zebedee answered. Sam noticed that his friend had a purple eye and it was swollen. He then saw tears in Zebedee's eyes. "Zeebad must've made him give it to him but he didn't want to." he thought as Mr Rusty wondered what was wrong but Zebedee avoided answering him.

Zeebad then chased Zebedee into the forest. He cackled as he beat him up. He wanted him to destroy the circus but he wouldn't. Mr Eusty found Zebedee standing there crying. He had bruises on his face and scrapes on his spring. "Something very wrong is happening with him. I must find out why." he thought as he saw his friend go into his small house...


	2. Suffering in Silence

Misery Business 

Ch 2

Zebedee had locked himself in his house the next day but Florence and the others were concerned. Sam then visited him. He found his friend curled up in a ball. "Hey Zeb. I know you're hiding from Zeebad. The others are worried for you. Mr Rusty is trying to find out what's going on. Maybe you should tell him. Don't suffer on your own. We can help." He said to him. Zebedee nodded.

"I'll try for you Sam. But I'm not telling Mr Rusty that yet, okay?" he replied softly. Sam hugged him. "Let's get out of here. The others are having a picnic." Sam replied. Mr Rusty smiled when he saw Zebedee with Sam.

They were having a great time playing and having fun but when they came to eat, the food was gone. "Where could it have gone man?" Dylan asked. Florence looked at Dougal but knew he hadn't eaten the food. Sam saw anger in Zebedee's eyes as he sat beside him. "Zeebad took the food, didn't he?" he whispered. "Yes he did. I'm sad but angry. I'll make new food appear right now." He answered as he bounced up and used his magic to make food appear.

Zeebad growled as he saw that. He would wait until night fall and then pick on Zebedee when his friends weren't around. Zebedee then fell asleep on the grass beside Sam. The soldier was relieved to see him in peace. "_Don't worry Zeb I'll help you stop Zeebad picking on you. I'll get the others to help too."_ He thought as he ate an apple. Later as night fell, Zebedee was in bed when he heard somebody smash things in his kitchen. He gulped nervously as he bounced into his kitchen to see Zeebad breaking things and eating all his food. "Why're you doing this? Get out now!" he said but Zeebad cackled and froze him to the floor encased in ice. "I'll always get you spring boy. There's no escape from being my prey. Tell anybody and you're dead!" he answered as he vanished in a flash of blue light. Zebedee felt really sad. Zeebad was making his life miserable but he couldn't tell his friends about it or Zeebad would seriously hurt him and that was something he didn't want to find out. Zeebad was in his prison watching Zebedee cry and laughed. Picking on those who were weak or not brave enough to stand up to him was fun. "I can't wait until tomorrow so I can do it all over again!" he cackled as he fell asleep. The next day nobody in the Village had seen Zebedee and were worried.

Florence then went to his house. She gound him inside tidying up his kitchen after what Zeebad had done to it last night. "Are you okay? What happened in here?" she asked him worriedly. Zebedee was nervous. He didn't want to worry the others about Zeebad bullying him so he decided to lie. "There... was an earthquake and it messed up the house." he answered nervously but Florence saw many scary emotions in his eyes. They were saying to her about the hurt and misery Zeebad was inflicting on him. "You seem sad. Zebedee... is something wrong?" she asked him quietly. "Something wrong? What do you mean?" he asked her. "It's just you haven't been yourself or smiled. You haven't played any tricks either so that's why I'm concerned. Sam told me that you've been reallt sad and unhappy lately but keeps saying it's his fault but we don't know why." Florence explained to him softly. But as she left, she heard him crying. She needed to talk to Mr Rusty. Zebedee then bounced off into the Village to find Sam but found him hiding near the Roundabout. He seemed scared and he knew what it was. "Zeebad's looking for you. He wants to seriously hurt you." he said. Zebedee saw a cut on Sam's cheek and that made him sad as he cleaned it up using his magic. "What do you mean Sam?" Zebedee asked him.

The soldier gulped before telling him more. "He wants to fight you. Don't do it. He'll play dirty and you'll get hurt." he replied. Zebedee's eyes opened wide in fear. He couldn't fight Zeebad. He sighed as Mr Rusty showed up. "What're you doing hiding here? Is something wrong?" he asked them. "Nothing's wrong. We'll get out of the way. See you later." Zebedee told him as he and Sam walked off to his house. Sam noticed his springy friend was shivering as he drank tea. "I'm sorry Sam. It's... just this Zeebad picking on me thing is making me sad. I haven't slept since it started, I haven't been happy and it's affecting my magic! I'm not fighting him. He also wrecked my kitchen last night. I want to tell the others about this but I always imagine what Zeebad would do to me if I told." Zebedee explained through tears. Sam felt sorry for him. "It'll be alright Zeb. We'll sort it out somehow. But if we told the others, they could help but it's your decision, okay? Take your time." he said hugging him and stroking his moustache. The Magical Springer smiled sadly at that. He loved it when Sam did that. He felt a bit better. "Thanks Sam. I'll think about it." he told him. But then they heard Florence and the other children yell about something.

They looked out the window and saw that Zeebad had taken their ball and theie candy. He'd also taken Dougal's pie and that made him angry. Zebedee felt sad as he bounced away from the window. Later at the Roundabout Florence, Mr Rusty and Sam were meeting at the Roundabout to try and get Zebedee to be his happy self again. "He hasn't came out of his house since eariler. It looked like he was hiding from something." Mr Rusty said. "Yes you're right. I went to his house this morning to find him cleaning up his kitchen. It was an awful mess. When I asked him why he wasn't acting like himself, he avoided my question and when I looked into his eyes..." Florence told them. "What did you see in them?" Sam asked her. "I saw sadness and hurt like somebody was bullying him. I hope that's not what it is. Zebedee isn't a great handler of sadness and hurt. I'm worried for him." she answered him softly. "It could be a trick he's planning on us and he's just really good at acting sad to fool us." Mr Rusty said. "It's not. He's really sad. He hasn't had much sleep and it's hurting his magic so he can't be planning a trick." Sam told them. He then walked to Zebedee's house to find him packing. He'd gotten a threat from Zeebad. "Please don't leave! Everybody'll miss you especially me. We can take care of Zeebad, I promise. Just stay." Sam begged. Zebedee sighed as he saw his friend upset...


	3. Worried for a Friend

Misery Business 

Ch 3

Zebedee saw how upset Sam was and stopped packing. "It's okay Sam. I'm not leaving. I won't risk our friendship over Zeebad's bullying ways." He said gently. Sam was relieved. He then walked over to the Roundabout where Mr Rusty was waiting.

He had something with him. It was a polygraph machine. "Will it hurt him?" he asked worried. "No Sam it won't. It's a lie detector. I'm going to use it to find out what's wrong with Zebedee." The old man answered. "I hope it'll work." Sam said. "_We don't need it if I decide to tell the others for Zebedee but it's his decision."_ He thought as he saw Zebedee bounce over to them. "What's going on?" the Magical Springer asked as Mr Rusty attached the hooks from the polygraph machine to his gloved hands. "Why's Mr Rusty doing this?" he whispered to Sam. "He wants to find out what's wrong, okay? He's using a lie detector on you." He answered softly. "I know this is a little odd but we're worried about you." Mr Rusty told him as he cleared his throat.

"How come you've been unhappy lately? Is it because somebody's picking on you? Please tell the truth." He asked him. Zebedee was nervous. "_What am I going to do? I want to tell them about what Zeebad's doing on me but he'll hurt me if he finds out. Maybe I could give them a little information without them finding out."_ He thought as his face was full of sweat.

"I'll tell you. I'm feeling that way because somebody is picking on me. He told me he'd hurt me or make it worse for me." Zebedee answered quietly. Mr Rusty smiled as he unhooked his springy friend from the lie detector. "Don't worry. We'll help you stand up to this bully whoever it is." he replied. But in his prison in the core of the Roundabout Zeebad was very mad. He would fight Zebedee later and made sure he paid. "I'm not done with you yet. You haven't told them my name so I might let you live." he told himself as he watched Zebedee on his own. Florence and the others were playing with a ball when they saw him on his own. "Are you okay? Why're you on your own? Come play with us. It'll be fun!" she said to him. "Thanks Florence but I'm not in the mood to play, okay?" he answered sadly. "Okay but when you feel better, come join us." she told him. He nodded and watched her play with the others. But then Zeebad appeared and that made him nervous. "I'm not gonna hurt you in front of your friends but later you're mine and they can't help you. If I get found out, they suffer too." he warned as he vanished. "What did he want?" Sam asked as he ran to his friend's side. "Nothing. It's okay." Zebedee answered trying to fake a smile to calm his friend down.

Florence then came over to him. He then decided on something he should've done before it got worse. "Can you keep a secret?" he asked her. "Yes of course. What is it?" she replied. Zebedee sighed before speaking. "I'm being bullied... by Zeebad. He started picking on me after I tried to help Sam stand up to him. But he told me a few minutes ago that later I'm his and if I tell Mr Rusty, he'll start on you guys and I don't want my friends to be as sad as I am now. Please don't tell the others, okay?" he told her sadly. She was shocked to hear that her friend was in trouble and was too afraid to ask because Zeebad would hurt his friends. "I won't tell. But if you don't, he's going to hurt you for the rest of your life if you keep silent." she said as she saw Dougal come over. He wondered if Zebedee had forgave him and Dylan for taking his spare springs to make a mattress but was afraid in case he didn't. Zebedee chuckled sadly at that. "Don't worry Dougal. I forgave you and Dylan a long time ago. I'm in big trouble and it's something I can't fix like that." he replied as Sam came over to him and they went to his house. Sam saw him drink black coffee slowly.

"What did Zeebad tell you now that we're away from the others for a little bit?" he asked worriedly. "He told me that later he'll hurt me and the others will get picked on too if I tell. I want to but I don't want them especially you to get hurt because of me." he answered sadly as he put the cup on the table. Sam was really scared now. Zebedee, his best friend was going to get seriously hurt just to protect them. He then went to find Mr Rusty at onxw. He found him fixing something on the Roundabout. "What's wrong with you Sam? Is something wrong?" he asked the soldier. "Yes there is. It's Zebedee. The person picking on him is gonna hurt him later tonight. He told him that if he gets found out, he's going to pick on the rest of us! What're we going to do?" Sam asked worriedly and upset. Mr Rusty then decided to think about it and let him know as soon as possible. Sam then went back to Zebedee's house ehere his friend was lying on the floor and there were big scars over his spring. When Zebedee woke up, hw found himself in bed. Sam was by his side.

"What were you doing? I found you lying on the floor." he asked him. Zebedee was feeling sore as he sighed. "I was worried about Zeebad so I tried to hurt myself. That way he wouldn't hurt me later. I'm sorry I scared you Sam." he replied. Sam understood why his best friend had done this. "Don't worry Zeb. Mr Rusty's going to help come up eith a battle plan." Sam told him. Zeebad saw Mr Rusty pacing up and down past the Roundabout. He knew that he was planning to stop his fun. He cackled as he saw Zebedee in his bed asleep and afraod. "Perfect! At midnight, I'll strike!" he said as he glowed with icy lightning. Sam was nervous as night fell. He then helped Zebedee to his house. It was a plan he'd thought of himself. He hoped it worked. "Don't worry Zebedee. Zeebad won't get you if you're with me." he said to him. Zebedee smiled at him. Sam had been his best friend since the first day he came to the Village. Unlike the others, Sam understood that he just wanted to play and be happy like anybody else. He then remembered the awful day when he was angry and only Sam could cheer him up but lately he'd been feeliing sad because of Zeebad. He fell asleep in a sleeping bag beside his friend's bed. Zeebad cackled as he appeared and began beating him up in his sleep. Sam heard him scream and woke up. He heard Zeebad laugh as he vanished in a flash of light.

He then got Mr Rusty. He was shocked as he picked up Zebedee gently in his arms and walked out of the house. Sam hoped Zebedee would be okay. He took him to hospital but he was in a coma as he lay in a hospital bed. Sam was feeling angry. He wanted revenge on Zeebad any way he could inflict it...


End file.
